Kevin McCurdy has enjoyed magic tricks and making people smile ”“ or scare them to death ”“ for as long as he can remember. He credits his parents with letting his imagination run wild as a child.
“By the time I was 9, I was setting up my own ”˜haunted house,”™” said McCurdy, owner and founder of Imaginart Studios in the town of Poughkeepsie and founder of Haunted Mansion in its community park.
“Luckily for me, my parents didn”™t try to squelch my interest; in fact, they encouraged me, and my father was often helping me set up the spooky show I improvised in the basement every October. It was the hit of the neighborhood kids and I loved every minute of it. I guess it stuck, because now creating scenery and stories to go with them are my passion and profession.”
McCurdy”™s venue has grown considerably since he first set up shop 33 years ago. “Unfortunately, we did have some rough weather, and that cut into attendance,” he said. “It”™s been a tough year for any outside venue. The wet, damp weather has really hurt tourism.”
The shows McCurdy puts on at Bowdoin Park are not enough for him to make it as a business owner. His business, Imaginart Studios, is the breadwinner for his family.
“With prices of materials skyrocketing and paying staff who are both year-round and seasonal, we”™ve managed to keep our prices affordable ”“ we have to, because people would not be able to bring their families for an evening out in this economic atmosphere. That”™s where we do a lot of juggling to make it work and still put on a quality show, but it is definitely not a money-making event ”“ it”™s more of a labor of love at this point.
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“When season”™s over, in addition to the work I do all over the country with my production and design company, Imaginart does a lot of murder mystery dinners in the region, a lot of fun for the audiences ”“ and they don”™t involve worrying about the weather. Like everyone else, we”™ve been hit by the recession. Let”™s keep our fingers crossed the economy gets better for all of us, especially for those who rely on tourism for a living.”
McCurdy has spent his entire life creating, designing and fabricating sculpture and scenery for shows, from the Westchester Broadway Theatre in Elmsford to the annual scare festival at Bowdoin Park, which he again credited to his parents for its humble start.
“We approached the officials in Dutchess County and asked them if I could put on a small Halloween attraction for kids on the park”™s grounds.” Thirty-three years later McCurdy”™s partnership with the county has resulted in countless thousands having the wits scared out of them at the park”™s Haunted Mansion, which takes McCurdy weeks to prepare for ”“ and then, if the weather is kind, he”™ll get four to five weekends of visitors from all over the Hudson Valley and beyond who not only like to be scared silly, but also enjoy McCurdy”™s imaginative presentation, which he changes each year.
“If you”™re going to put on an attraction, you want people to come back,” McCurdy said. “You can go see the same show once or twice, but if the venue doesn”™t grow or change, it becomes stale.” The other factor is competition. I”™m competing with my own creation at SplashDown Beach in Fishkill ”“ Skull Island ”“ I designed and built the props and scenes for the owners to extend the season at the water park. So to keep Haunted Mansion fresh and fun to bring back regulars and attract a new audience, the show changes every year.”
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This year, Haunted Mansion”™s visit is even more interactive than in the past, “which really gets the audience going,” laughed McCurdy. “They can”™t figure out how the ”˜creatures”™ inside know their names ”“ and I”™m not giving away any professional secrets!” Suffice to say it does keep Haunted Mansion”™s visitors both laughing and screaming. “It”™s great when people laugh during the visit, because when something frightens them, they”™ll actually scream louder ”“ it”™s more of a shock. In the end, it”™s actually the experience they hoped to have ”“ the chills, the scares-with a bit of laughter thrown in. All in good fun and in the Halloween spirit.”
To keep the scares fresh, McCurdy builds a little more into the Halloween theme with every season. “You have to be imaginative. I think up my own ”˜scares,”™ and I was devotee of all the old horror movies and the ”˜Twilight Zone”™ as a child; no doubt some of those macabre, bizarre twists inspired me,” McCurdy said. “And you are always looking for that unique twist that will captivate an audience, whether it is a Halloween venue or another imaginative set design so it will visually appealing but keep your attention.”
This year”™s star of Haunted Mansion is Sammy, the ventriloquist”™s dummy, said McCurdy, introducing his creepy, wooden partner.
Although Haunted Mansion is a favorite of teens and younger (its Sunday show keeps the lights on for the 10 and under group), “I am seeing more couples in the 20s and 30s coming to the past few years … we”™re reaching a broader audience, which is terrific.”
“I do love what I do,” said McCurdy, who is already preparing for the park”™s next theme show, Christie the Christmas Train.
